September 2006
Metro Denver companies celebrate landmark deals
Metro Denver companies feel confident to add workers in the third quarter after a month of varied economic conditions, yet remain wary of the national economy, according to data compiled by the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation (Metro Denver EDC) in its Monthly Economic Summary for September 2006.
The most recent monthly economic data for Metro Denver reveals that 9 of the 18 indicators moved in a positive direction for the month, down from 13 last month. Annualized activity remained relatively constant with 16 economic variables posting positive changes for the year, up from 15 indicators last month. Declining home sales and rising foreclosures continue to plague Metro Denver, preventing the region from posting positive economic news across the board.
Year-to-date employment in Metro Denver is up 2.1% through July, according to the latest statistics from the Colorado Department of Labor. A closer look reveals that employment in the Denver-Aurora MSA is up 2.2% for the year compared to a 1.4% gain in the Boulder-Longmont MSA. Colorado continues to outpace Metro Denver in terms of employment growth with a 2.2% gain over the first seven months of 2005. Employment growth in both Metro Denver and Colorado has sustained a faster pace than the nation, which posted a 1.4% increase through July.
“Seeing just half of the economic indicators pointing in positive direction, it is becoming apparent that we are entering a period of slight economic uncertainty,” stated Tom Clark, executive vice president of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation (Metro Denver EDC). “While companies feel confident enough to add workers in the third quarter, they still have concerns about the strength of the national economy,” Clark added.
Future employment is looking good at Lockheed Martin Corp. in Jefferson County as the company was awarded a multi-billion dollar, high-profile contract to build the next generation space shuttle that will return astronauts to the moon and eventually travel to Mars. The Orion crew exploration vehicle (CEV) contract is expected to create 450 new high-paying engineering jobs in Metro Denver.
The financial services sector is seeing growth with Jackson National Life Insurance Co. adding 400 high-paying jobs to its current Metro Denver workforce of 600 over the next few years. Additionally, Fort Lauderdale-based PRC will open a call center in Arapahoe County and hire 500 employees in September. PRC handles customer service operations for large companies like Fedex.com, Hotels.com, and British Airways.
The bioscience sector is celebrating a $6 million grant awarded to the University of Colorado School of Medicine to establish a stem-cell biology program. The Charles C. and June S. Gates Family Fund trustees approved the gift, making it the largest single gift ever given to the school for research. Leading the program will be Dennis Roop, currently a professor and director at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.
These key sectors of the Metro Denver economy all require a highly educated workforce which Colorado is proven to produce. Based on new data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Colorado ranks third out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia in the percentage of people over 25 who have completed a bachelor’s degree or higher, up from fifth in 2004. Additionally, the latest Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) results show that Colorado students continue to exceed the nation as a whole. Colorado students scored an average of 558 on the verbal test and 564 on the math test compared to the national average of 503, and 518, respectively.
Metro Denver continues to see high foreclosure rates, but this is not unexpected. Foreclosures increased in all seven Metro Denver counties from July to August with the exception of Arapahoe County. Broomfield, Boulder, and Adams counties suffered the sharpest percentage increases in August, but Denver, Arapahoe, and Adams counties have recorded the largest number of foreclosures so far this year. Recent activity by the Federal Reserve to hold interest rates steady should dampen the foreclosure rate in the long term.
The Monthly Economic Summary provides a snapshot of metro area economic activity, as well as its relationship to national and regional economic trends